Lines of Fate
by Marina Black1
Summary: The future is a stranger place than they ever could have imagined... (Legends of Tomorrow fanfic)


_March, 15 2020…_

It wasn't even that far in the future.

Sara stood riveted on the street, watching this timeline's version of herself struggle with a toddler on her hip. At first she thought it could've been one of Felicity and Oliver's inevitable future kids…until she turned to the side and her belly was softly swollen.

"Someone's been busy," an icy voice chided from beside her. The wheezing laugh died in his throat when the man himself suddenly appeared behind her with a massive box of diapers tucked under one arm. With his free hand, he reached around her waist and cradled her against him as they crossed the street, heading for a fairly ordinary green minivan.

"I see congratulations are in order." Mick's gravelly voice was filled with mirth as he doled out a sharp blow to the ice man's shoulder. "I didn't know you had in it you, Snart."

Rip cleared his throat loudly. "Now is not the time to dither on your potential futures. We have work to do. Come along!" His tone left no room for argument as they hurried down the street. There was a museum on the border of Cove City that had recently acquired one of Vandal Savage's cursed objects. With advances in technology and protection, their task required the thieving expertise of Mick and Leonard, Sara's charm and ass-kicking skills, and Dr. Stein's flair for the dramatic.

Martin created a huge scene in the midst of the new entropy exhibit while Sara, Snart, and Mick slipped in and out, trading the urn on display for a similar one made of plaster cast. As far as missions went, it went as smoothly as Rip could've hoped. He needed to tear Mick away from other artifacts they had no business stealing and earned himself a black eye for his efforts. Snart, usually the leader, was suspiciously silent the entire trip back to the Waverider. Sara, on the other hand, seemed to make an even greater effort to pretend they hadn't just seen her very own happily ever after.

Shortly thereafter they departed 2020 and headed into the Temporal Zone for a bit of downtime. They needed to do a thorough assessment of the urn to determine its use in the fight against Savage. Kendra and Carter were leading the discussion, along with resident science nerds Ray and Stein. Swiping a book from one of the shelves, Sara headed for the room she'd claimed as her own. It wasn't the largest, but at least she didn't have to share. A formerly dead assassin who had seen the inside of the Lazarus Pit didn't exactly sleep soundly at night. They'd only been on this mission for a month and she'd been awoken by the sound of her own screams no less than a dozen times.

Flipping open the first page of the book, Sara stared at the words but she wasn't paying attention. The whisper of footsteps pacing back and forth outside of her door was distracting. He probably thought he was being quiet but to her trained ears, there was no getting anything past her. "In or out, Leonard. You're not going to get another invitation."

"How did you know it was me?" He asked, his lips ticking downward into a frown as he opened up her bedroom door and slipped inside. There was nowhere to sit in the room except for the bed, and that felt far too intimate…especially given what they'd just seen.

Sara stared him down. "I can recognize your footsteps. I know what your breathing sounds like. I can practically hear your pulse right now…" Cobalt eyes flared open wide, surprised at her honesty. "You need to relax, Len. I can't actually hear your heartbeat from here." She stood abruptly, crossing her arms over her chest. They stood, eyeing each other warily for a while before Sara broke the tension. "I've been thinking about it too…"

"About what?" Leonard asked coolly, purposely playing dumb.

"Our children."

Leonard suddenly recoiled as if she'd bit him. "We don't have children!" There was a cruelty in his posture and his jaw ticked dangerously. "How can you say that so casually?"

Sara raised an eyebrow at him and the violent reaction he had to the notion. He looked like a wild animal, poised and ready to strike. If she were any other, she might've feared such an act…but since she'd already died once, Sara wasn't afraid of anything anymore. "I'm just stating the facts. We both saw our future selves with a beautiful daughter and another one on the way. We looked… _happy_."

Leonard's fist tightened. "You don't know that was my child. That either of them were my children!" He railed back at her. "And you don't know if we were happy, Sara! We could have been putting on a show for—"

"For _who_ , Snart? Our _daughter_?" She shook her head. "It's so easy for you to say it's not your baby. Your body wouldn't bear the badges of honor that come from carrying a child. But I _saw_ her. She had beautiful dark hair and blue eyes— _your_ eyes, Leonard." Sara's heart ached, though she couldn't say why. "But who knows, maybe she's Ray's or Mick's or even Rip's. Maybe I don't even know who the father is. The point remains that you were there." Sara pointed an accusatory finger at him. "It was your arm around my waist, your hand cradling the child in my belly, and holding a giant box of diapers under your arm! Diapers aren't cheap, Snart. You were providing for your family."

Rage boiled in Leonard's veins and he turned, slamming his fist into the wall. His knuckles split open, leaving spatters of crimson against the stainless steel that would not budge no matter how hard he railed against it. Gideon chided him, imploring him not to cause damage to himself but he cursed at her until she had nothing more to say on the matter. Leonard eventually wore himself out. His breathing was erratic and choppy, his usually pale face splotchy with anger; he looked like he would implode at any moment.

Why he was so irrationally angry, Sara couldn't understand. She said nothing as he threw a tantrum that would put a toddler to shame. Folding her arms across her chest, she narrowed her eyes. "I don't even know why we're arguing about this. It was just a glimpse of the future. A future we can change by not repeatedly banging each other until I'm knocked up!" She took a step toward him, reaching for his shoulder. He turned violently before she could touch him, his teeth gnashing menacingly. He merely swatted her away but she returned the blow with one of her own, slapping him directly in the face.

Leonard was a thief, not a ninja. Whatever Sara lacked in height, she made up for in dexterity and brute strength. Cheek and ego stinging, he lashed out without thinking about the consequences. He aimed another blow, this one headed right for her belly, and she suddenly had him pinned to the wall. Her hand clenched his throat, stealing his breath as he tried to push her away. Leonard's face was purple with fury and from oxygen deprivation, spittle forming at the corners of his mouth as he was forced to focus on breathing instead of fighting. "Okay!" He snarled, his arms falling to his sides. "Enough!"

"I want an answer, Leonard. Why are you so upset about this?"

"Because I _can't_ be a father!" Leonard pushed her away and this time, Sara simply let go. He skittered away from her, plopping down on the bed to catch is breath. Five perfect finger-shaped marks were beginning to purple over the skin of his throat. He swallowed several times, simply to make sure he still could…or perhaps to center himself. Leonard averted his gaze. "My own father was a bastard and a drunk. He hurt me, but what was worse, he hurt my sister. Lisa was a precocious little girl who wanted nothing but to please my dad. She wanted him to love her. It shouldn't be too much for a father but for him, it was." He was shaking. "Instead he tore her down, mentally and physically. Killing him was the best thing I ever did…" Ice blue eyes shimmered with emotion as he stared down at his hands. "I swore from an early age I would never procreate. I am destined to become the exact same horrible father that I had. I could never do that to our children…"

Sara listened quietly until Snart had finished. He looked so small and lost, his voice only a raspy whisper when he spoke. At first she thought his throat might be sore from being choked, but it was more than that. She eased toward him, ensuring he felt safe enough to allow her to sit beside him on the bed. Leonard didn't flinch, but shifted to accommodate her instead. "Don't take this the wrong way," Sara began, keeping her legs tightly crossed, "but I think you'd make an _amazing_ dad." His head snapped up and she held up her hand to silence him before he could argue. "I grew up with an awesome family. My dad was the best man I've met. Still is, as a matter of fact. He's a cop." Sara smiled wistfully, laughing as he quirked an eyebrow at her. "My mom is a college professor. She was nothing but loving and supportive, even when I was at my worst. I have a sister who I adore, too." She paused. "When I was in my teens, I was a prissy little bitch. I stole my sister's boyfriend and ran away from a college education my parents were going to pay for. I got what was coming to me…I deserved it."

"Tell me this is going somewhere," Leonard replied dryly. He hated Sara talking about herself like that, but he wasn't sure how to get her to stop without tipping his hand in the process.

"I'm just saying, it's not always about where you come from." Sara nudged him gently. "And there's no such thing as a 'bad dad gene' either. You don't inherit those things."

"Up until a month ago, you didn't know there was such thing as time travel." Leonard's lips curved into a smile. "How can you be so sure shitty parenting isn't hereditary?"

Sara snorted. "I guess you're right. Maybe Rip can clarify if they've discovered anything on the subject by the year 2166." It was oddly comfortable sitting with Snart in her room, bantering back and forth. They'd gone from nervous interactions to duking it out to opening old wounds. It made Sara wonder… "It could've been a hoax, you know. Maybe we borrowed a kid from foster care and we knocked over a Costco. Maybe the diaper box was filled with cash and I shoved a frozen turkey under my shirt for good measure…"

Leonard's face cracked into a wide grin. "That seems far more plausible than falling in love and deciding to start a family. And that minivan was horrible." The tension eased from his body as they laughed together. He found himself sitting closer, their shoulders pressed together. They seemed to be gravitating closer and then suddenly her hand was on his thigh.

"You have a condom, right?" Sara asked, her voice husky as she licked her lips.

Whipping out his wallet, Leonard flashed it at her. "Always." It was a little crinkled and he wasn't exactly sure how old it was. When Sara's lips hungrily met his,he did n't care anymore. If this last month had taught him anything, it was that they couldn't fight the future.

Sara pushed Leonard against the bed, her lithe fingers already tugging off his belt. He allowed her to touch him freely, his own hands tracing the mess of scars that crossed her body and learning her curves. They fell into an easy rhythm as he pressed into the core of her. It was as if their bodies were made for one another. Leonard spent the rest of the afternoon buried deep inside of her until they were both spent. Afterward, he snuggled against her and they soon fell asleep, wrapping in each other's arms.

Maybe Sara Lance would never be the mother of his children…but she was the only woman Leonard Snart could see himself screwing in the near future.


End file.
